


Foundation of Lies

by flightinflame



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern: Still Have Powers, Canon Disabled Character, Erik Logic Is The Best Logic, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Meetings, Honestly Charles What Are You Thinking, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Logan Needs A Hug, M/M, Misunderstandings, Protective Erik
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-30 05:04:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20091721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/pseuds/flightinflame
Summary: Erik rubbed his forehead, taking another look between his head of security and the fairly attractive young man pinned against the wall by his throat, one claw pressing against the skin."Could you repeat that Logan?""I said, I caught this shape shifting fucker impersonating your husband."Erik's frown deepened. So his hearing was working. Shit."Logan, I don't have a husband."Or in which Charles is bad at names, Raven is bad at problem solving, Erik is lost, and Logan just wants to go home.





	Foundation of Lies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [babyangeldan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/babyangeldan/gifts).

> Inspired by a prompt by babyangeldan, and betaed by the amazing Lourdesdeath.  
Warnings for non-detailed domestic violence and implied homophobia.

Erik rubbed his forehead, taking another look between his head of security and the fairly attractive young man pinned against the wall by his throat, one claw pressing against the skin.  
"Could you repeat that Logan?"  
"I said, I caught this shape shifting fucker impersonating your husband."  
Erik's frown deepened. So his hearing was working. Shit.  
"Logan, I don't have a husband."

Logan stared at him, confusion obvious. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, then gave the shifter another shake - this one seemed to succeed in knocking them out of their fake form, because a moment later there was a blue-skinned girl there, held so high she couldn't reach the floor.  
"Put her down. I can control her," Erik demanded, calling out metal from around his office, cuffing her against the wall at a height where she could at least put her feet flat on the floor. Certain she was secure, he turned his attention to Logan again. It was bad enough that the head of security had been in a terrible mood for no reason for the past week or two, but this was too much. The man had taken leave of his mind.  
"I don't have a husband."  
"Yes you do!" Logan insisted, seemingly confused. "Look, I know we argued about him last week but-"  
"I didn't speak to you about my husband Logan. I don't have a-" Erik started, then froze and turned towards the figure pinned to the wall. Who was no longer blue. 

His own face stared back at him.  
"I can explain," she said, her voice echoing his own tones, before a moment later she was blue again. As he approached, he realised how young she looked. She couldn't have been older than seventeen, and her yellow eyes were filled with tears. "I'm... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come I just-"  
"She was trying to take a few thousand dollars from your account," Logan explained. "So don't let this act fool you."  
"Thank you Logan, but if I can take over speaking to her... What's your name?"  
"Raven," the girl answered, not even trying to pull against her bonds. "I'm sorry-"  
"You've been pretending to be my husband?" Erik asked, turning to Logan. "No, you can't have been, or you wouldn't have smelled different-" 

The girl was sobbing now, and Erik loosened the metal, folding it around her wrists so that he could freeze her if need be. Slowly, he stepped forwards, and wrapped his arms around her, shushing her softly.  
"Okay, Raven. I think you need to sit down, and I think you need to tell me everything, can you do that?"

Raven nodded.  
"Look... I just... I need the money. For..." She looked down. "Charles is in the hospital."  
The name meant nothing to Erik, but Logan looked concerned for a moment.  
"What happened to him?" Logan asked, and she sobbed.  
"He got hurt really badly. I'm sorry, this all..." She was weeping again, and Erik sighed.

"Logan, can you escort Raven and I to the hospital? Tell Janos to cancel my afternoon meetings." Whatever the hell was happening here, it was clear Charles was the one with the answers. He turned to Raven.  
"Sorry, but could you look a little less noticeable?"  
She nodded, and turned into a fair skinned blonde, with a charming smile and a flowery dress.  
"Thank you." He sighed, crafting the metal bindings into fashionable bracelets, and their strange trio headed to the hospital. More than once in the car, Raven again dissolved into sobs, whilst Logan seemed distracted.  
"God, I... I yelled at you. At her. Fuck, I don't know." Logan gripped the wheel so tightly Erik half expected the other man's claws to erupt. "Charles had a black eye, and he tried to shrug it off but-"  
"You think I hit my husband?" Erik protested, following it a moment later with, "When I don't even have a husband? Damnit, Logan-"

"He didn't say you did. He said he didn't want to talk about it but-"  
"I'm sorry," Raven whispered, between sniffles. When they arrived, she led them to a ward, and then along to a private room, pausing by the door.  
"Please don't hurt him-" she begged, and Erik sighed. He was confused and angry and really fucking lost, but if someone was already in hospital he was hardly going to make things worse.  
"I just want to talk."

That seemed to reassure her, and she led them inside.  
"Charles... Charles I-"  
"Raven!" The young man sat up on the bed was the one that Raven had been impersonating. He had been reading, but put the book aside as they approached, trying to smile. He had hair that looked soft, and beautiful blue eyes, and bruising across much of his visible body. There was a hospital wheelchair beside the bed. "You didn't... I told you you shouldn't risk it-"  
"No." She crossed her arms, reverting to her blue form. "You risked for me."

"Will someone _please_ explain what the fuck is going on?!" Erik demanded. "Because she's stealing my money, and you're claiming to be my husband and-"  
"I'm sorry," Charles said, and his voice was slow, careful. "None of this is Raven's fault. She's a child."

Erik looked at Charles. He didn't look much older than Raven.  
_I'm twenty._ a voice protested in his head, and Erik groaned. A telepath. Of course it was a fucking telepath.

"I'm sorry," Charles repeated, and this time he was speaking out loud. Logan looked between them and grunted his disapproval, standing by the door and picking at his teeth with a claw. Raven had cuddled up against Charles's side, leaving it to him to explain. 

"I never meant for this to happen," Charles began. "I just... was looking for somewhere I could hide out during the day, and I read the minds of a couple of your workers and I knew the canteen food is free if I could get inside the building. I just wanted to get in, and grab some food for Raven and... well. I'm a telepath. I can avoid being noticed. But someone startled me, and they asked for my name, and it said Lehnsherr Industries outside the building and I've never been good at coming up with names under pressure - honestly, I've told someone their own name before, that was horribly awkward - and so I just said Charles Lehnsherr. And they said I didn't look like a relative, so I just..."

"You said we were married?" Erik spluttered, and Charles nodded.  
"I said we were married," he agreed. "I just thought that would be simpler? To say that we were married, and come in and get some food, and honestly it wasn't my best plan but I hadn't eaten in almost a week, so I'll use that as an excuse. Anyway, it was fine, I used my ability to make sure people trusted me when I said it, and honestly it was fine until your friend there-" he gestured towards Logan, "noticed I was bleeding and got protective over me. So I had to get Raven to pretend to be you, to stop you finding out. And then... I started making friends there, and it was good to have somewhere to be during the day, and I found a corner where I could read and I..." Charles shrugged. "It was stupid."

"You're telling me you had the ability to fool everyone into thinking we were married, and your friend-"  
"Sister."  
"Sister can shapeshift into me," Erik continued. "And you used this to steal lunch from the canteen and find space to read? You could have ruined my company. You could have stolen my fortune, you could have gone to an enemy-"  
"I know," Charles said softly, running his fingers through Raven's hair. "But I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't want to hurt anyone actually. I just… wanted to ensure that Raven and I were safe. So just stealing some food and reading seemed..." He bowed his head. "I'd offer to repay you, but... well," he gestured at the hospital room. "I appear to be putting myself more in debt by the second."

"What… Did you pull this shit with anyone else?"  
"No." Charles sighed. "I'm afraid I had a bit of a falling out with my stepfather. Unfortunate side effect of trying to be clever is that sometimes things come back and bite you in the arse. Seems he heard I was some rich mutant's boytoy and wasn't very happy about me disgracing the Xavier name."  
"You're..." Erik stared at him in shock.  
_Charles Xavier? Yes._

That made no sense. The Xavier family were immensely wealthy. Erik had been assuming this boy was poor, but there was no reason for a Xavier to be sneaking into somewhere to eat.  
_I inherit when I'm twenty one. If I live that long. Which, given my spine is apparently shattered at the lumbar region, isn't overly likely. I'm not going to be able to run away any more , and anyway my stepfather certainly has no intention of paying for the medical bills._

"Raven?" Erik asked. "You were trying to get money to pay for Charles's treatment?"  
The girl nodded. Erik looked at Logan, and sighed. This was a ridiculous idea, even for him.

But he'd always believed that mutants needed to support each other. Several of his staff had criminal records, and they'd made good on the opportunity they had been given. These two had nowhere else to go, and a powerful telepath and a shapeshifter would be useful to have on his side. 

The expression on Charles's face implied he already knew what Erik would say.  
"I will pay for Charles's treatment, on the condition that you both come and work for me - Raven, around your schooling. The wages are good, and I can arrange for you to share a house away from anyone who means you harm. Given you both clearly know your way around the building it shouldn't be too hard."

Raven nodded quickly, squeezing Charles's hand, her eyes full of hope. Erik waved his hand to call away the bindings he'd placed on her earlier. Charles looked up at him and nodded.  
_Thank you Erik. You won't regret this._

Erik considered the inevitable meetings, trying to clarify with staff that no he wasn't married, and that his new employee had been lying to them all. He saw the look of confusion and annoyance on Logan's face, knew he would be getting an earful for this later. But he pulled out his chequebook.  
_I already do. But you're welcome._


End file.
